This invention relates generally to transfer systems, and more particularly to the transfer of a service such as electricity, fluids or data between a vehicle and a stationary service port.
In today""s world, motor vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, and motorcycles are typically powered by internal combustion engines. In these vehicles, a liquid fossil fuel such as gasoline is ignited to transform the chemical energy in the fuel into mechanical energy that is used to drive the vehicle. Due to the scarcity of fossil fuels and the pollution from vehicles burning these fuels, alternative fuels and new vehicles powered by these alternative fuels are being developed. For example, new types of vehicles that utilize gaseous fuels are being developed and are expected to enter commercial production within the next decade.
One type of gaseous fuel powered vehicle is a fuel cell vehicle (FCV), which uses a fuel cell to electrochemically generate electricity from hydrogen fuel and uses the electricity to power the vehicle. FCVs may use pure hydrogen delivered directly from a hydrogen fueling station, or may extract hydrogen from a hydrogen-containing fuel. In the latter case, a service terminal may for example, transmit a hydrogen-containing liquid such as methanol to the FCV, for reforming into hydrogen by an on-board methanol reformer. As another example, the FCV may have an on-board electrolyzer that uses electrolysis to extract hydrogen from water molecules supplied to the vehicle by the service terminal.
Because the FCV has different servicing requirements than gasoline-powered vehicles and because no FCV has yet to enter full-scale commercial production, no FCV servicing system is known to exist. Such an FCV servicing system would require service terminals that are configured to service FCVs; for example, an FCV service terminal may have a service port that connects to an FCV and facilitates the exchange of fuel, electricity and possibly data between the FCV and the service port. Providing such an FCV service terminal presents many challenges, including providing cost-effective and efficient systems for connecting the FCV to the service port.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a service port for coupling to a connectivity device of a wheeled vehicle such that one or more services, namely electricity, data, and fluids, are transferable therebetween. The service port includes:
(a) a receptacle including an opening shaped to receive a service plug of a vehicle connectivity device, and a service engagement portion inside the receptacle for engaging a corresponding service engagement portion of the service plug;
(b) a service conduit junction coupled to the receptacle and couplable to a service conduit to enable the transfer of a service therebetween; and
(c) a wheel contact surface located relative to the receptacle such that when a wheel of a vehicle contacts the contact surface, the connectivity device of the vehicle is within coupling range of the service port.
The service port may further include a housing with a recess in which the receptacle is located. The recess has a recess opening on an outside surface of the housing. A connection bay may be located in the recess between the recess opening and the receptacle; the connection bay may have tapered walls tapering from the recess opening to the receptacle opening. The receptacle and the connection bay may be made of materials that include an electrically insulating material.
A connection bay door may be provided that is movably mounted to the connection bay. A cleaning apparatus may be provided that is mounted to the connection bay such that the cleaning apparatus contacts the plug passing through the connection bay; the contact serves to remove unwanted material from the plug.
The wheel contact surface may be a portion of the outside surface of the housing. The service port may further include fasteners on the housing for fastening the service port to a parking surface. The housing may have a front, back and top surface, and the recess opening may be located on any one of these surfaces.
The housing may have a width selected to correspond to the wheel track of the vehicle and a height that enables the front overhang of the vehicle to clear the housing such that the front wheels of the vehicle can contact the wheel contact surface.
The service port may further include a lateral vehicle guide mountable to the parking surface relative to the housing such that contact between a wheel of the vehicle and the vehicle guide guides the vehicle to a suitable lateral position on the wheel stop contact surface. The lateral vehicle guide may be a raised rail, a plurality of spaced bumps, or an elongated groove.
The service port may further include a housing deployment motor assembly connected to the housing to move the housing between an operative position and an inoperative position. The housing may be pivotably mounted to the motor assembly such that the motor assembly pivots the housing between an operative position and an inoperative position. Or, the housing may be vertically slidably mounted to the motor assembly such that the motor assembly raises the housing into an operative position and retracts the housing into an inoperative position.
The service conduits may include fluid conduits, and the service port may further include a heating fluid transfer circuit or an electrical heat tracing thermally coupled to the fluid conduits.
The service port may further include a service port status indicator electrically coupled to the service conduit junction.
The service conduit may include an electrical conduit for transferring electricity between the service port and an electricity grid and the service port may further include a power filter electrically couplable to the service conduit. The service port may further include a bi-directional electricity meter electrically couplable to the electrical conduit to measure the electricity transmitted by the electrical conduit.
An electronic service port controller may be located inside the housing, and be electrically communicative with the receptacle.